Bubba Wallace peeled back the curtain on his feelings regarding a move by 23XI Racing to remove his crew chief, Bootie Barker.
Barker will transition to a behind-the-scenes role within 23XI Racing while Charles Denike, who has shown success in the NASCAR Truck Series, has been announced as Wallace’s new crew chief for the upcoming season.
The team, co-owned by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan (yes, that Michael Jordan, His Airness), announced the move earlier this month.
Wallace initially issued a statement supporting the move with the disclaimer that Barker would still be a part of the team.
“Bootie has meant a lot to me and the No. 23 team,” he said. “We’ve been together for some special moments, and I’m glad he’s still going to be a part of what we’re building at 23XI. I’m excited to work with Charles and see what we can accomplish together.”
There’s Something Bubba Wallace Isn’t Happy With, However
Despite missing the 2024 NASCAR playoffs, Bubba Wallace has demonstrated improvement in recent races, suggesting potential for success next season.
Jordan, Hamlin, and the rest of the team see this crew chief change as part of their overall strategy to enhance team performance and competitiveness.
While the decision at first seemed to be okay, Wallace doesn’t like the fact that Barker won’t get a sendoff race because the No. 23 team has been suspended from the Championship race at Phoenix.
They were hit with allegations of race manipulation during the Martinsville Speedway event. NASCAR fined Wallace’s team 23XI Racing $100,000 and 50 points and he was given the same penalty himself.
“I hate that Bootie’s last race with the 23 group has to be tarnished by that,” Wallace fumed. “Bootie has meant a lot to me in the short amount of time I’ve got to be with him. The last three years he’s become one of my best friends and I told him that when we made a decision to go a different direction.”
“So to see him on the sidelines, not going to our last race – win, lose or draw, it doesn’t matter – he’s not here in the trenches with us and that chaps my […], for sure.”
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Doesn’t Seem Happy
Making matters worse, Bubba Wallace seems to be suggesting that he really wasn’t on board with the decision in the first place. That his initial statement was politically correct, but not accurate to his feelings.
“It was making that next step and ‘what do we need to do?’, so it wasn’t an easy decision. I strive on family atmosphere, I don’t even know how you can get more family than Bootie,” he said.
“To step away from that and going in a different direction was not something I was ready to be a part of, but you have to make those decisions at some point.”
It remains to be seen how Wallace will continue to improve with a crew chief he once considered family being removed.
